One of the most well-known instigators and trash talkers in the NBA is Minnesota Timberwolves guard Patrick Beverley.
Beverley has been known to get under the skin of many players, but maybe no player has experienced that more than Phoenix Suns star point guard Chris Paul.
The rivalry between the two has been well documented over the years, with Beverley saying previously that it dates all the way back to his high school days.
The Suns played in an elimination game against the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday, and Phoenix came out extremely flat from the start and lost 123-90.
Beverley discussed the Suns’ embarrassing loss Monday morning on both ESPN’s First Take and Get Up, where he blasted Chris Paul for his performance with the series on the line last night.
He had some extremely bold criticism of Paul, saying that the Suns should have benched Paul instead of Deandre Ayton and that he “can’t guard anybody..he’s a cone” as well as adding that he should be getting the same type of criticism as Brooklyn Nets guard Ben Simmons.
It was certainly a pretty aggressive attack on Paul from Beverley, which had many around the NBA world commenting on Beverley’s harsh critiques.
Patrick Beverley: “Chris Paul is a cone”
Also Patrick Beverley… pic.twitter.com/zzdS8V5MVK
— Ben Golan (@BenjaminGolan) May 16, 2022
We typically don’t see media members go after players as hard as Beverley did towards Paul, but considering Beverley is still an active player with a long history with Paul, it makes some sense. And many around the NBA world are applauding Beverley and see him as someone who could be excellent as an NBA analyst once his playing career is done.
How Fox Sports gonna be whenever Pat Bev is ready to retire and do TV pic.twitter.com/DrMEqLGiKW
— Tristan Garnett (@TristanJGarnett) May 16, 2022
Beverley’s recent appearances on ESPN programming have definitely been a change of pace for the network.
He has always played with an edge to him, and it appears that his style on camera is about as authentic as it gets.
Regardless, it definitely doesn’t look like Beverley and Paul will be squashing their beef anytime soon. And with Beverley set for further ESPN appearances Tuesday, there could be more to come here.
[ESPN NBA on Twitter]